Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/10/14/murder-hornet-eludes-scientists-trying-to-electronically-track-it-to-its-secret-lair.html
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Dental floss? That’s genius. Why not a rubber band or a ribbon with a bow?
In all the examples I’m aware of, some kind of (super-) glue was used.
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I am skeptical. I am fairly certain that fireworks and/or pressure washers are the only standard wasp nest removal tools.
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Several months ago, Washington State Department of Agriculture scientists glued a tracking device
Last week, they captured another one and tied the tracking device to it with dental floss.
They’ve done both. I’m betting the second time they were in field and improvised. But considering the glue didn’t work, dental floss sounds long a long shot.
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These monsters grab honeybees and take them back to the hornet nest to feed their colony. So, trojan- horse’m: put the tracker inside a honeybee body at a site known for their attacks (~Birch Bay WA)
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laughs in hornet
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So a can of Lysol and a lit match are out?
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Sneaksy thiefsy.
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tricksey hornitses!
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dental floss? wha? you complete nincompoops! give me the crazy glue, stand back!
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brake cleaner. match optional
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Dental floss is a poor choice for tying anything, because knots tend to slip out easily. Thin polyester thread would be better.
But as others have already said, superglue seems like the logical choice, as long as you take care not to glue a murder hornet to your finger. 
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Eyelash glue has also been used for fixing trackers to insects:
And yes, take care not to glue a hornet to your eyelid.
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Sounds like they need to employ the rare, bumbling (yet oddly successful) Columbo-beetle.
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I was with Mayas in the Yucatan. A stingless bee wandered by. They grabbed it and simply tied a thread to its leg. The thread was visible and slowed it down. They tracked it through the jungle to its nest. Low tech indeed.
Medicinal honey for the next sixty years.
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Don’t sting under the apple tree
Anyone else but me…
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I agree. I can’t imagine someone in the lab would choose dental floss when other methods of fastening must of been available. But I could imagine them being in the field and crossing paths with a miss murder hornet, lacking glue, finding dental floss in their pocket, and just taking the chance in the moment.
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Say it with me, “Asian giant hornet.”
See how nice it is without the sensationalist bullshit?
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Only a few hornets (under 50) can exterminate a colony of tens of thousands of bees in a few hours.
It seems accurate to me.
Genocide hornets might be more accurate though
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